Tail or bridle for rockets



Sept 5, 1950 .c. D. scHERMuLY Erm. 2,521,655

TAIL 0R BRIDLE FOR RocxETs Filed Dec. 18, 1945 Patented Sept. 5, 1950 oFF-lcs TAIL OR BRIDLE FOR ROCKET Conrad David Schermuly,

Charles muly, and

Newdigate, England Application December 18, 1945, Serial No. 635,666

In Great Britain 3 Claims.

This invention relates to tails or bridles for rockets, of the kind which are secured to one or more bands slidable on the rocket casing, and has for its principal object to provide more erlicient and simple means for limiting the rearward movement of the tail or bridle.

According to this invention a rocket comprises a casing, at least one band slidable on said casing and carrying a tail or bridle, and a stop member on said casing intermediate its ends for limiting the rearward movement of said band. When the rocket is in flight the point of attachment of the bridle is rearwardly of the choke end of the rocket.

The stop member may be a band secured to the casing by welding or screwing or the like, or it may be formed by swaging the casing itself.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show a rocket in accordance with this invention provided with a bridle, it being understood that a tail unit may be substituted for the bridle.

Figure 1 is an elevation of the rocket with the bridle in forward, or firing, position;

Figure 2 is a plan of the rocket of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is an elevation of the rocket with the bridle in rearward, or flight, position.

The rocket comprises a metal casing I containing the usual rocket composition and closed at the forward end by a wooden plug 2 held in position by screws 3. Instead of the plug 2, the rocket may be provided with a head containing a flare or the like, and the head may if desired be provided with a buoyancy chamber. The casing I contains at its rear end the conventional choke, for example cannelured into the casing at 4. Two bands 5, 6 are slidable on the casing I, the band 5 being essential and the band 6 optional. The bands 5, 6 carry lugs l, 8 through which pass a pair of rods 9, the rods 9 being welded or otherwise secured to the lugs 1, 8. While a pair of rods 9 is shown and preferred, it will be understood that one single rod 9 may be used.

A bridle IIl is pivoted at II to the rear ends of the rods 9, and carries a boss I2 to which is secured a length of wire rope I3 the free end of which (not shown) is looped for attachment to a line.

As an alternative to the pivoted bridle, the rods 9 may terminate in a tail unit for the purpose of steadying the flight oi the rocket when the rocket is not of the line-carrying type.

Intermediate the ends of the casing I, a stop I4 is provided. This stop may take the form of a band screwed, Welded or otherwise secured to Alfred James Scherchermuly, Parkgate,

December 1, 1944 the casing I, but in the embodiment shown is formed by swaging the casing I itself.

When both bands 5, 6 are present, the stop I4 limits both rearward and forward movement of the bridle. When the band 6 is dispensed with, the stop I4 limits only the rearward movement of the bridle.

When the rocket is to be fired, the end of a line is attached to the Wire rope I3, the bridle I0 swung out of alignment with the rods 9 and the bands 5, 6 moved to their forward position with the band 6 abutting against the stop I4, as shown in Figure 1 or 2. In this position the rear end of the casing I can be inserted'into the barrel of a rocket discharger from which the rocket is to be fired.

When the rocket is red, it leaves the discharger with considerable force and as soon as the stop I4 strikes the band 5, the bridle will be carried along by the rocket and will assume the position shown in Figure 3. In order to minimise any tendency for the band 5 to bounce forward again after striking the stop I4, the forward edge of the stop is preferably tapered or rounded so that when the band 5 strikes the stop I4 it will bind thereon.

The location of the stop I4 intermediate the ends of the casing leaves the rear end of the rocket free for insertion into a discharger and therefore offers advantages over the provision of a flange on the rear end of the rocket.

We claim:

1. A rocket comprising a casing, a band slidable on said casing and a stop member on said casing intermediate its ends for limiting the rearward movement of the band, said stop member having its forward edge rounded for binding the band to the stop; and a tail or bridle carried on the band, at a point rearwardly of the choke end of the rocket when the band is in its rear position.

2. A rocket comprising a casing, a band slidable on said casing, a stop member on said casing intermediate its ends for limiting the rearward movement of the band, said stop having its forward edge rounded for stop, a rod secured to said band, and a tail or bridle pivotally secured to the rear end of the rod, the point of attachment of said rod and said bridle being rearwardly of the choke end of the rocket when the band is in its rear position.

3. A rocket comprising a casing, a band slidable on said casing and a stop member on said casing approximately midway between its ends for limiting the rearward movement of the band, said stop member having its forward edge rounded binding the band to the for binding the band to the stop; and a. tail or UNITED STATES PATENTS bridle carried on the band at a point rearwardly of the choke end of the rocket when the band is Nlmlem Mex'ne SeptDlag' 81914 in its rear Position 1'257'126 schneidl- Feb'19 1918 CONRAD DAVID SCHERMULY' 5 2,210,820 Schermuly et a1 Aug. 6, 1940 ALFRED JAMES SCHERMULY. CHARLES SCHERMULY. FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country y A Date REFERENCES CITED 2,136 Great Britain of 1894 The following references are of record in the 10 file of this patent: 

